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The Naked Truth About Art in South Africa

South African satirical artist Brett Murray’s “The Spear” shows president Jacob Zuma in a Leninesque pose, a revolutionary with his chest puffed out — and his genitals exposed.

The 70-year-old Zuma’s party, the African National Congress, has ruled South Africa since Nelson Mandela led it to power in the country’s first nonracial elections in 1994, ending the racial segregation period known as apartheid.

If the painting was meant to skewer the president, the tip pierced its target, and when it went up at Johannesburg’s prestigious Goodman Gallery a few weeks ago it made the beloved country cry.